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As a popular anthologist, Robert Frothingham (1865-1937) compiled a thematic "Songs of" series for publisher Houghton Mifflin, including Songs of Men (1918), Songs of Dogs (1920), Songs of Horses (1920), and several more. But before he began assembling anthologies and penning books of his own, such as the travel volume Around the World (1925), he began his career as a reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle and the New York Sun. He next moved into advertising, working first as an advertising manager at Life and Everybody's Magazine and then moving to poster advertising. He retired from that field in 1925 to focus on travel and his writing.

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In this letter to writer Christopher Morley, Frothingham offers his friend copies of his anthologies for the library of the Tusitala. Around 1923, Morley, Felix Riesenberg, William McFee, and others invested in a ship which was to run pleasure cruises out of New York for those interested in square-riggers and older sailing techniques. The ship was named the Tusitala after the nickname given to Robert Louis Stevenson by the Samoans. The adventure did not last long due to lack of funds. When Frothingham's anthology Songs of the Sea and Sailors' Chanteys was published in 1924, it contained two contributions from Morley: "Sing a Song of Steerage" and "Green Escape." The volume also contained several pieces related to the Tusitala, including a letter sending "brotherly good wishes for fair winds and clear skies" from Joseph Conrad.